


Love and Loyalty

by suya



Category: Aldnoah.Zero (Anime)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-04
Updated: 2014-11-04
Packaged: 2018-02-24 02:38:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2565209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suya/pseuds/suya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Count Cruhteo is raised from the dead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love and Loyalty

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [爱与诚](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/81470) by 特浓红豆布丁. 



_Afar from sepulchres renowned,_   
_To a graveyard, quite apart,_   
_Like a broken drum, my heart,_   
_Beats the funeral marches' sound._

 

"When will you stop being stupid?"

The child with a familiar face squats and stares at him, eyes sneering, lips curling down. He smells his own blood. The first thought coming up is nausea, and it fills up his mind now. Retching, stomach turning, his limbs in pain, the child's face comes closer.

 "It's not the first time, remember? Exactly like what happened the last time. Can't you see you are nothing but a fool? There are many things more important than you, power, desire, lands, love, justice......You have always been the one to be abandoned. "

Cruhteo bites his lips, his body tingling. He fumbles for his walking stick, but nowhere can it be found. He must have it in his hands——it was given by his Majesty in the adult ceremony, a present with wishes, something like that. Where has his Majesty been? Ah, his Majesty had promised that they could go for an outing after the triumph, and that was what Saazbaum had said as well. But he can see it now that none of these two has ever returned to him. They both died 15 years ago. And Cruhteo is here, alone.

His mind is broken in pieces and reframes a montage, no logic to follow, no concept of time and space. He walks limping, together with the child wearing the same look. He recalls this child now; it is what he looked like when meeting his Majesty for the first time. A few caring questions, a gentle touch on his forehead, the happiness when receiving the stick……

Then he hears the obituary of Gilzeria, the Second Emperor of the Vers Empire.

Be loyal, Cruhteo.

Be loyal.

Be loyal to the royalty, be loyal to this country, and be loyal to your word. You had made a promise to protect all these; you should keep it till falling in battle. You had been raised up here, to become the guard of this empire. Nothing is immortal, and even the emperor would die one day. But stay being loyal; the pearl of Vers was there, though her light was still feeble and tiny. 

Go protect her. You made a promise, you should keep it.

But who had I promised?

Confused, Cruhteo tries to recall the name but fails. He looks around for the child, but the child vanishes as well. He turns to Saaz for help, and he meets the muzzle.

Saaz is weeping.

A cold body in his arms, Saaz is sobbing in despair with his body shaking. And his hand, though trembling as well, is holding the gun pointing straight at his forehead.

"Teo."

Curiously, Saaz speaks with a lower voice, the same one that always made him smile in their youth.

"——Die for me."

Then the gun was fired.

It was not the first time.

The child is talking. See, there are always something more important than you, and you are always on the lighter side of scale. When will you stop being stupid?

The death knell tolled.

Sounds of groan flooded in; it was the people mourning the loss of their emperor. The coffin there was empty, for nothing tangible remains after the explosion. He left for home after the funeral, alone. Saaz was not there——he had another funeral to attend. Holding his stick, Cruhteo walks slowly, and everything around him fades into shadow. Everything is floating; even the Mars, solid and sound, has turned into a lump of clay. He turns back, walking across the ruins, heading to where he came from. He opens the coffin and lies himself down with care.

He can now accept that his Majesty was not here, he thinks. no matter what, it is a small coffin. 

Immersed into darkness and tranquility, he feels only warm and peaceful. But someone knocks on his coffin.

"……Who is there?"

"It's me."

"Saazbaum, could you kindly leave me alone?"

"You cannot be there forever, Teo."

"I am OK with this."

"But——"

"Saazbaum, give me a break. It's you who killed me, and now you don't even allow me to have a rest here?"

There comes no sounds then.

Cruhteo closes his eyes in content. But the peace does not last long; someone knocks on the coffin again.

"Saaz——"

"It's me, Teo."

He closes his lips, the stick cold in his arms.

"Your Majesty."

"Get out Teo, you cannot stay here forever."

Why these two keep speaking similar words?

"No disrespect, but your Majesty has been dead, so I don't need to follow the order anymore. No power remains after one's death, not even your Majesty."

"But you made a promise, and you should keep it."

"Your Majesty had made a promise as well, a promise of victory, to win us more lands, and your Majesty's return……None of them was fulfilled."

"Sorry."

He opens his eyes, slightly shocked.

"I am sorry, Teo."

With these words in ears, a feeling of upset occurs to him from nowhere. He knows how to push himself forward and has never hesitated, even though many have been lost over the years. But now, at this moment, he could not help feeling upset, as if he is the little kid, his head patted by Gilzeria.

"I have been waiting for long, your Majesty.

"I have always being true to my word, and Princess Asseylum has grown up already.

"I have tried whatever I could.

"But I have died, your Majesty. A dead man cannot keep his promise anymore. It's beyond my ability."

He breathes in deep, for the oxygen in the coffin is less and less.

"Sorry Teo, sorry for all these." Gilzeria starts to talk again. "But could you hold on a bit longer for me? Assey, the child never held in my arms, she is in danger now. So is the empire. Though I put its fate at the gaming table once, I have never wished to see this country lying in ruins. So have another try; things will come to an end this time, I promise."

It makes no sense to believe the promise of a dead man. He is not that blind.

Cruhteo, when will you stop being stupid?

The child looks at him in contempt.

"Die for me."

Saazbaum speaks with no emotion.

"Here is a present for you, hope this will make you remember me when I'm not around. Soon, I can take you to the earth; it will be ours after this war. You like the sea and ocean, right? We can go see it together."

Sorry.

He raises his hands, trying to push the lid off. All of a sudden, the coffin, Gilzeria and Saazbaum, all vanishes in vain. Yet the face of that child remains, and he can read the words from his murmuring lips.

It was not the first time.

How naive you are, to think nothing would change if only you stayed——all the others have gone and you are the only one here, being left with your perversity and insistence. Can't you see Gilzeria had long been dead and cold? Can't you sense Saazbaum had been planning a rebellion? The truth was right there before your very eyes, yet you turned your face away. You, cling on to the past, dreaming that one day they will come for you if you don't give up——when will you stop being stupid?

Blustering, overbearing, but there are tears in his eyes.

I do understand, but this is not the time to die, not here and now. Princess Asseylum is alive, and I have to protect her. I made a promise, and——

And?

The princess has the eyes of her father.

"Are you out of your mind?" The child speaks dryly after a moment of stunning. Cruhteo stands himself up, the walking stick in his hands. The first thing to do is to open his eyes. He walks forward in the dark, heading to the surface of his consciousness. He had once been deserted and betrayed, but it did not destroy him; neither will this time. He opens the eyes. 

And there is light.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2bFukH-TwA


End file.
